Skylark (Skylark Trilogy, #1)

by Meagan Spooner

Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life.

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.

Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.

Her only choice is to escape; follow the birds into the wilderness beyond.

Into the Iron Wood

Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games, Skylark is an electrifying tale of magic, secrecy and survival.

• ISBN10: 0552565563
• ISBN13: 9780552565561
• Publish Date: 31 January 2013 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 26 August 2015
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
• Imprint: Corgi Childrens
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[lizarodz]

What a different take on dystopia! I’m always amazed by the vision, imagination and invention of authors everywhere, that’s why you are so awesome! Skylark is a testament to that :)

There are books that, for whatever reason, stay with you and Skylar is one of those. To me, the best components of the story are the story building, the setting and the writing. The story is very slow to build and I have to confess of losing interest at the beginning, I’m glad I persevered though! The world created by Spooner is nothing short of magical. It has been ravaged by wars 100 years ago and the survivors have either mutated to almost monsters, or banded themselves in walled cities that are powered by the ‘resource’, what we know of as magic. I think one of the biggest lessons that Lark learned is that evil could be found inside and outside the walls equally and that she had to be very careful to survive. The setting comes alive by the description of Lark experiences. The writing is poetic and lyrical, rich in metaphors and simile; truly exquisite. I wish I could include some quotes here, but alas, this is harder to do when listening to an audio book.

Now that you read the paragraph above, you might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned that characters yet. I’m getting to that part now. It’s not to say that the characterization was poor, but to me, it takes second place to the story itself. Lark is strong, loyal, but misguided and very incapable, at least at the beginning. Since the story is told from her POV, we get to experiences all her ‘first’. The first time she sees the outside world as she leaves her domed city is traumatic. She’s starving, tired, and scared. She makes many mistakes and is saved a few times by Oren. I loved that Lark is aware of her shortcomings and wants to earn some independence and sense of belonging.

Oren is, as Lark initially called him, a wild boy. However, he is taken with her and helps her many times, showing her how to survive in the ‘real’ world. Oren is mysterious, stoic, strong and closed off, but I liked him immediately. I have faith in you! Nix is a pixie (a machine created by the institute to track magic), that is Lark’s other companion on her travels, I loved her evasiveness and her loyalty. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t like Kris from the beginning. The other characters, such as Dorian, the renewable leader, and others are not memorable.

The plot is different and so full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and left my head spinning. I hope that Lark learns to take care of herself and finds her missing brother Basil. I can’t wait to read Shadow Lark, the next book in the series that will be released in October of this year.

About the cover: The cover is pretty, but doesn’t give a lot away. I guess the woods are prominent and that the swirls gives it a sense of whimsy.

[kimbacaffeinate]

When I read the synopsis for Skylark I was immediately drawn to this dystopian type fantasy. I am delighted to tell you that it delivered a magical, dark dystopian world with a touch of steampunk. Spooner’s depiction of this world was refreshingly original with fleshed-out characters and a tale that kept me reading through the night.

I will be honest; the beginning however fascinating was a little rough for me. Rather than laying out the world in detail, Spooner has us learning as the protagonist does. This little speed bump was soon over as I dove into the story. We meet Lark Ainsley as she makes her way through the tunnels leading to her school. She is sneaking in to see if her name has been selected for Harvest Day. Does this sound eerily familiar to the very popular Hunger Games? Fear not because that is where the similarity ends. When she is discovered by a pixie-bot, she accidently uses her magic and kills it. Use of magic is forbidden within the city. Shaken she returns home only to discover she has been selected and is quickly taken to the city's institute. Once at the institute she is scheduled for harvesting. Lark soon discovers that things aren't as they seem, and that the institute has horrific plans for her. The tale that unfolds kept me completely spellbound as Spooner took me to a world I will not soon forget.

Lark Ainsley is brave, strong willed and snarky. She faces challenges head on and questions the world before her with such believability that she came to life on the pages. Despite her fears of the unknown she moves forward in her quest. I connected with Lark and felt like I experienced every emotion with her. Oren is raw, wild at times and complex. I eventually fell for this soft spoken, sensitive, quirky young man. We learn bits and pieces of his back-story giving an air of mystery to him. I adored Nix and laughed at her comments and loved her loyalty. She holds her own rightful place in this tale and I thoroughly enjoyed her. Kris is the son of the ambassador to the institute and he helps Lark. We never really know him but this adds to the mystery. Other characters added to the tale, creating suspense. I loved that even the secondary characters felt fleshed out and added to this gripping tale.

The world-building in Skylark is absolutely breathtaking. Spooner brings us a fascinating dystopian world unlike any I have visited. With only the power of her pen she brought this world to life. As I read, I could see this world unfolding before me and instantly connected with Lark as we both met it for the first time. Spooner slowly reveals this world and provides some back history. The Institute and sealed city was interesting and how the city survived fascinated me. The world outside of the city was absolutely amazing and Spooner’s depiction held me captive. The pockets of magic, the house in the woods were brilliant. The creatures Lark encounters were terrifying. One of the things I loved about this book was the way the author took elements of steampunk, fantasy, dystopia and other genres and wove them into such a delightful, believable and original tale. It is clear she has a true understanding of these genres and successfully integrated elements of each.

Skylark completely blew my mind and I cannot wait for the next book in this series. Fans of fantasy, dystopia and magic will love this tale. Shadowlark book two in the trilogy is expected to release in 2013 and I cannot wait.

I want to thank the publisher and netGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.